Getting Started/Installing Dreamfactory
Installing DreamFactory
Welcome to the installation guide for DreamFactory! This section focuses on the initial installation of DreamFactory on our supported platforms.
DreamFactory is a powerful open-source REST API platform that allows you to quickly build and deploy secure and scalable applications. Whether you are running Linux, Windows, or prefer using Docker, we've got you covered.
Server Hardware Requirements
DreamFactory is surprisingly performant even under minimally provisioned servers. You'll want to install DreamFactory on a 64-bit server with at least 4GB RAM. If you're planning on hosting the system database on the same server as DreamFactory, then we recommend at least 8GB RAM. This server will house not only the operating system and DreamFactory, but also a web server such as Nginx (recommended) or Apache, and PHP-FPM. Keep in mind these are the minimum RAM requirements; many customers can and do run DreamFactory in far larger production environments.
Under heavier loads you'll want to load balance DreamFactory across multiple servers, and take advantage of a shared caching (Redis or Memcached are typically used) and database layer (which houses the system database).
| Cloud Environment | Minimum Server |
|---|---|
| AWS | t2.large |
| Azure | D2 v3 |
| Oracle Cloud | VM.Standard.E2.1 |
| Digital Ocean | Standard 8/160/5 |
| Google Cloud | n1-standard-2 |
Although DreamFactory can run on Windows Server and IIS, we recommend instead using a popular Linux distribution such as Ubuntu, Debian, or CentOS in order to take advantage of our automated installers targeting those specific operating systems.
Prior to launching your project, we recommend thoroughly testing your APIs under estimated production loads using a tool such as loader.io.
Installation Methods
To get started, choose the applicable installation method:
- Linux Installation: This guide details the DreamFactory installation process for various Linux distributions.
- Docker Installation: If you prefer using Docker, this guide helps you set up DreamFactory in a containerized environment.
- Windows Installation: If you are using Windows, this guide walks you through the installation process step by step.